Lorna McIlroy | President , ARTA

— Mahatma Gandhi

If , by chance , you read my blurb on the ARTA website , it says I am , “ most importantly a lifelong learner .” I now realize that those words tell the story of my life .

My fascination with learning began as I turned four . It was decided that my older brother would take Grade 1 by correspondence . The magical brown packages arrived in the mail and my mother began tutoring . The answers that I shouted out from a distance were not appreciated , but I was soon reading and then writing letters to my father who was a patient in an Edmonton hospital for months at a time .

An epiphany occurred when my brother turned 7 and a letter from my father read , “ Neil can have my pocket nife . It ’ s in my good panse pocket .” I knew how smart my dad was . He was an excellent carpenter whose houses and church steeples still bear mute testimony to his skill , but leaving school early to work in a Cape Breton coal mine had curtailed his formal education . That day , I realized that lifelong learning was so much more than proficiency in spelling or the degrees you might acquire .

Those brown , windowed envelopes so intrigued me that I took French by correspondence in Grade 11 when it was not offered at my school . A few years later , I took every available correspondence course that the University of Alberta would accept for my education degree . The brown envelopes flew back and forth to Queen ’ s University ,

University of Saskatchewan , and more .

The real advantage to taking seventeen years to complete my first degree was that I was always a student . I was learning something new whenever I could fit in an evening class , a weekend course , or a spring or summer session . A six-week course in Alnwick Castle in the northeast corner of England completed my degree and opened the floodgates to a world of travel .

After retirement , I embarked on another correspondence course to obtain my Prairie Horticulture Certificate from Olds College . This was just prior to it becoming an online program so , once again , brown envelopes were in transit . This year I enrolled in a Faculty of Agriculture program at Dalhousie University . I must admit though that I am struggling to continue with an anonymous , totally online format , but I will persevere .

As this pandemic continues , online webinars have proliferated , and my calendar fills up with a variety of topics . This is a great way to explore subjects without formal commitment and I hope this format continues long after we exit this pandemic tunnel . However , the most important thing about lifelong learning is that you do not need to register for a course , attend a class , or receive a degree or certificate . There is something to be learned from everyone you meet , every craft or sport you try , and every place you visit .

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